1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus.
2. Related Art
In ink jet recording apparatuses, there are demands for high-speed, high-quality image forming.
JP-A-2008-1003 discloses an ink jet image recording method that can ensure ink ejection stability even at high-speed output and reduce the formation of satellites during ink ejection to prevent image degradation. In accordance with this method, the surface tension of ink is controlled by the physical properties of the ink, the ink ejection speed, the ink ejection frequency, and the like to effectively and quickly cut the tail of an ink droplet extending from a nozzle during ink ejection.
However, without considering factors other than the surface tension of ink in the formation of satellites, the ink jet image recording method provides insufficient satellite prevention measures.
Another factor in the formation of satellites is the viscosity of ink, for example. A high ink viscosity results in an ink droplet having a longer tail, which splits into two or more droplets, the main droplet and satellite droplet(s), during the flight of the ink droplet. These droplets land as two or more dots on a recording medium, thereby degrading images.